Variations of solar spectral irradiance from near UV to the infrared—measurements and results

✍ Scribed by M. Fligge; S.K. Solanki; J.M. Pap; C. Fröhlich; Ch. Wehrli

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2001
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 188 KB
• Volume: 63
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1364-6826
• DOI: 10.1016/s1364-6826(01)00020-7

✦ Synopsis

Solar spectral irradiance variations are known to exhibit a strong wavelength dependence with the amount of variability increasing towards shorter wavelengths. The bulk of solar radiation is emitted at visible and infrared wavelengths. Thus, the spectral radiation length of 300 nm accounts for 99% of the total solar radiative output. Deposited in the Earth's troposphere and biosphere, this part of the solar irradiance spectrum determines direct solar radiative forcing and is therefore of particular interest for climate studies. First, measurements of solar irradiance and irradiance variability from near UV to the IR are reviewed with particular emphasis on the results obtained from the Variability of Irradiance and Gravity Oscillations (VIRGO) on SOHO and Solar Spectrum Measurement (SOLSPEC) instruments. In the second part a model is presented which describes solar spectral irradiance variations in terms of the changing distribution of solar surface magnetic features.